Imagine packing all of your green debris — from grass clippings to fallen tree branches — into a compost wall, constructed from wooden beams and wire, that surrounds your property. Imagine building raised bed retaining walls out of ordinary soil mixed with cement. Imagine constructing a home for bees and other beneficial insects out of a block of wood.

These and other low-tech, environmentally conscious innovations are on display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, adjacent Exposition Park and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The purpose of my visit to the museum was to make acquaintance with a collection of drought-tolerant plants in the north campus gardens but, as an unexpected extra, I was privy to an education of what the 21st century Los Angeles garden might come to be like. Carol Bornstein, director of the north campus museum gardens, was my guide.

Bornstein is a pre-eminent authority on California natives. She is the author of two highly esteemed books: “California Native Plants for the Garden” and “Reimagining the California Lawn: Water-Conserving Plants, Practices, and Designs,” both published by Cachuma Press. For nearly 30 years, Bornstein worked as horticultural director of the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden, whose sole mission is the cultivation and research of California native plants.

To top off her resume, Bornstein is the discoverer of a new species, spotted during a native plant expedition along the Northern California coast. Known as silver carpet beach aster (Lessingia filaginifolia ‘Silver Carpet’), several trailing specimens of Bornstein’s botanical baby are flourishing in the museum’s garden.

I had to unearth this background information on my own since Bornstein refused to talk about herself. She humbly paused to pick out weeds during our walk through the museum gardens, a small but telling sign of her abiding concern for the plants that thrive under her care, proof of the famous maxim that “the best fertilizer is the gardener’s shadow.”

A notable feature of the museum gardens is the signage. Written in whimsical script with vocabulary that a child could understand, pithy messages are scribbled. Here’s the sign above a pillbug nest: “Check out my home. I live here with my family and we help you humans make healthy soil.”

In the Get Dirty Zone, where kids have the opportunity to interact with a variety of exhibits, you will find this sign: “30 percent of the world’s people make buildings out of soil.” Who knows what impact such a message, bouncing around in a young mind, might have on a future architect or materials engineer?

And then there’s a “Bee Motel,” a slab of wood containing row after row of holes that serve as nests for bees and other insects.

The gardens also are designed — from a water feature that emulates the Los Angeles River to a hummingbird feeder tree constructed from rebar — to attract birds, with hundreds of species seen at one time or another in Los Angeles County.

Feathery cassia (Senna artemisiodes) and kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos sp.), both of Australian origin, are also noteworthy garden choices on display.

Finally, it was a pleasant surprise to observe that at least two blueberry cultivars, ‘Sharpblue’ and ‘Sunshine Blue,’ are producing substantial crops in the museum’s edible garden.

As far as dealing with the current drought, there are two approaches to consider: the technological approach and the biological or botanical one. We can either find ways to bring more water, or more economical water, into the garden, or plant species that do not require much water in the first place

Recycled water is one way to go. Griffith Park, as well as its adjoining golf courses, cemeteries and freeway medians, have been irrigated with recycled water for more than 20 years. Gray water systems, which recycle kitchen, shower and laundry water, are also perfectly feasible and have been installed on a limited scale.

Desalination of the ocean, an inexhaustible water resource, is also worthy of wider implementation. The example set by Israel, which faced chronic water shortages for decades, is instructive. Not too many years ago, there was a major push toward construction of desalination plants along Israel’s Mediterranean coast and today Israel enjoys a water surplus.

Then again, with or without technological intervention, at least concerning garden water consumption, there is the option of planting California natives and other drought-tolerant species. Be aware that such plantings are not without risk and your soil may require improvement. California natives benefit from fast-draining soil, and the Natural History Museum soil, prior to planting, was amended accordingly.

You also will want to consider installing a sprinkler system since many natives, during their first two or three years in the garden, will require supplemental water. And during prolonged droughts, such as the one we are experiencing at present, even established plants will benefit from an occasional soaking.

To learn more about local plants and gardens, visit Joshua Siskin’s website at www.thesmartergardener.com. Send questions, comments, or gardening experiences to joshua@perfectplants.com.

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